By boat, oar in hand, in the heart of the Marais poitevin. A few hours before the concert she is to give that evening, drummer, composer and singer Anne Paceo recharges her batteries in the landscapes of her childhood. This is where she came to compose her last album: “The fact of being in the green, in nature, that inspires me a lot. I live in Paris, so I like to come here in peace, with the birds. This region is my childhood“.
This region where she grew up, where she also learned the drums. It was in 1996 in Niort, her hometown, that she had her first experience with the public during the music festival. Jazz had not yet entered his life: “My thing at the time was Oasis, Rage Against The Machine, Nirvana. Jazz came when I arrived in Paris. There was a music school next to the house that was looking for a drummer or a drummer for a jazz workshop. So jazz was a complete fluke“.
She then joined the Paris Conservatory, rubbed shoulders with the big names in jazz, before creating her own musical universe. Since then, Anne Paceo has won no less than three Victoires du jazz, in 2011 as an instrumental revelation, then as Artist of the Year in 2016 and 2019. As she prepares to take the stage at the Niort Jazz Festival, she savor the road travelled: “I tell myself that I’m very lucky to do a job that I love, to be able to make a living with it, to choose the people I work with and make the music I want to make. It’s a priceless chance“.
After her concert in Niort, Anne Paceo hits the road again with her latest album, the ninth, entitled SHAMANES, mixing music and spirituality. An album unanimously acclaimed by critics. She had agreed to answer questions from franceinfo last March when she left. Anne Paceo will be present in several jazz festivals this summer, in Nice, Marseille, Marciac or even Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. All dates can be found on its official website.